Containers, and more specifically metallic beverage containers, generally contain a neck on an upper portion that is adapted for interconnection to a metallic end closure. The container end closure is formed from a flat sheet of metallic material and generally includes a pull tab or other form of stay on tab (“SOT”). Beverage containers commonly store carbonated beverages, thus, both the container body and the container end closure are required to withhold internal pressures up to 90 psi without catastrophic failure or permanent deformation. Further, the container end closure must be manufactured, stacked, shipped, and sent to a filler prior to being seamed onto a container body filled with a carbonated beverage. Thus, the container and end closure must be designed to resist deformation and failure while utilizing thin metallic materials and allowing compact stacking during shipping and manufacturing.
Food and beverage containers with pull tabs or SOTs are generally known. Various SOTs and related features are disclosed, by way of example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,926,675 to Rieck et al., the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Known devices, however, generally position a distal or “tail” end of a pull tab in close proximity to the panel of the end closure to allow stacking of the end closures prior to and after filling of the beverage container. Such an arrangement, particularly where can contents are placed under pressure, pose various complications and challenges with operating the tab and opening a portion of the panel. Such complications include, but are not limited to difficulty in engaging or grasping the tab and risks of damage or injury to a user's finger(s) or fingernail(s).
Some consumers, especially children, the elderly, and people with long and/or artificial finger nails, have difficulty opening beverage containers with SOTs because they cannot raise the tab lift ring in order to break the score line with the tab nose. The problem often arises from the lack of space between the lift ring (also called a tab tail) and the central panel of the end closure. In the past, there has been a very limited amount of end closure modifications to allow the consumer adequate room to fit his/her finger under the lift ring for easier opening. This is because during the manufacturing process finger access modifications are a problem for a variety of reasons, including: stacking, conveying, palletizing, metal exposure, rotated tabs, and “tab-over-chime” issues. “Tab-over-chime” refers to a geometry where the pull tab is located above the height of the peripheral curl the container end closure, which creates stacking problems, potential damage and increased expenses.
Furthermore, conveying end closures at high speeds depends on the end closures tightly nesting together so that they can flow smoothly along a track from process to process (e.g., shell formation, conversion, bagging and filling, etc.). Any modification that elevates the tab higher on the central panel or the central panel on the end to protrude downward, causes stacking interference. Stacking interference may allow the end closures to snake around and compress like a spring. Conveying spongy end closures causes jams in the conveying track and during other processes. Accordingly, there exists a significant need for a beverage container end closure with an easy access tab that can be efficiently stacked and conveyed during manufacturing and shipping, yet which is manufactured with durable, lightweight, reduced gage metallic materials in a traditional manner, and that improves the opening characteristics for the consumer.
Previous attempts have been made to manufacture container end closures with adequate room to accommodate a consumer's finger under the lift ring in an attempt to provide easier opening for the consumer. Many of these attempts include a container lid with one or more upwardly extending protrusions such that the user can rotate the tab onto a protrusion and either break the scored area or gain additional space for the consumer's finger under the tail of the tab. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,425 to Stec et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,555 to DeMars et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,618 to Garbiso; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0108954 to Cho; and Japanese Utility Model No. 05075935U, which are each incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,808 to Lee (“Lee”) discloses a container lid with a nose end of a tab initially resting on an upwardly extending protrusion and a tail end of the tab lying flat against the container lid. A user may depress the protrusion and nose end of the tab into the container and cause the tail end of the tab to rise, making it easier for a user to open the container. The entire disclosure of Lee is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Other attempts to provide an end closure that is more easily opened include container lids with concave central panels. Concave central panels can make stacking and conveying more difficult. Therefore, certain end closure designs utilize a central panel that “dome out” or become concave after pressurization. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,909,196 to Turner et al. (“Turner”) discloses an end closure having a tab with a downward facing protrusion (e.g., a curled edge of the tab) in contact with a central panel that “domes” outward when the container is pressurized such that the lift ring (i.e., tab tail) is elevated above the central panel. Additionally, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0326281 to Nishibe et al. (“Nishibe”) discloses a container lid where the lid and tab are bent downward before pressurization. After the container lid is affixed to a container and the container is pressurized, the bent lid and tab rise upwards, such that the center point of the container lid is the maximum concave portion, to create space under the tail end of the tab. The entire disclosures of Turner and Nishibe are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,168,586 and 8,113,375 to Jeon (“the Jeon '586 patent” and “the Jeon '375 patent” respectively) disclose a container lid with an upwardly extending, deformable protrusion. A user applies a manual force to the downwardly deformable protrusion to create a concave section under the tail end of the tab. The entire disclosures of the Jeon '586 patent and the Jeon '375 patent are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,617,945 to Cherian (“Cherian”) discloses a container lid that has a bent tab such that when a user presses the nose end of the tab downwards, the tail end of the tab rises upward. Cherian also discloses a container lid where a user may rotate the tab up onto upwardly extending protrusions to raise the tail end of the tab. Cherian further discloses a container lid with a simple depression under the tail end of the tab. The entire disclosure of Cherian is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Japanese Application No. 2002-362553 to Omura (“Omura”) discloses a container lid with a “seesaw”-shaped tab. A user may depress the nose end of the tab and raise the tail end of the tab, providing space so that a user may easily lift the tab and open the container. The entire disclosure of Omura is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,177,092 to Mills (“Mills”), issued May 15, 2012, discloses a container lid which has two sets of scored lines such that opening the container is a two-stage process. As a user begins to lift the tab, the first scored line fractures and releases pressure from within the container. Then, the user further lifts the tab to fracture the second scored line and open the container. This two-stage process prevents the internal pressure of the container from turning the container lid into a missile. The entire disclosure of Mills is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,678 to Kobayashi (“Kobayashi”) issued on Aug. 12, 1997, and discloses a device for opening a container where a tab interconnects to a rivet via a separate element. This separate element allows a user to lift the tab a certain distance before the tab actually engages the container to fracture a scored area. The entire disclosure of Kobayashi is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Due to the numerous limitations associated with the prior art described above, the following disclosure describes an improved container end closure that is adapted for interconnection to a container body and that employs a protuberance to slightly lift a tab. This novel feature provides an improved access area for a consumer's finger and significantly improves the ease of opening the container.